Quiznos, Bandra Linking Road
A4 - A5, New Kamal CHS, Opposite National College, Linking Road, Bandra West, Mumbai Phone: 022 3015 1881
2100 hours, 1st November 2014, Saturday:
Quiznos is a franchised fast-food restaurant brand based in Denver, Colorado, which specializes in offering toasted submarine sandwiches. The restaurant chain was founded in 1981 in a gas station by Jimmy Lambatos and it has about 1,500 domestic locations and about 600 international locations. Quiznos is the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, after Subway.
This brand has been brought in Bombay by young entrepreneurs - cousins Kunal Khatri and Bhavesh Khatri alongwith the latter's wife Bhavna Khatri. I had the opportunity of meeting Bhavna and Bhavesh. Bot in their late twenties, both armed with an MBA degree - a first glance at them you wouldn't imagine that they are not actually college students come to frequent the restaurant. Managing the P and L of the franchise on their dainty shoulders, they come across as a far cry from the urban milieu who toe the line of their ancestral business. Rather they have chosen to follow their passion, veer from the past, take a leap of faith, display a brave streak of entrepreneurship, narrow down upon a hitherto untapped opportunity and be intelligent enough to make this a roaringly profitable proposition.
Quiznos is a franchised fast-food restaurant brand based in Denver, Colorado, which specializes in offering toasted submarine sandwiches. The restaurant chain was founded in 1981 in a gas station by Jimmy Lambatos and it has about 1,500 domestic locations and about 600 international locations. Quiznos is the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, after Subway.
This brand has been brought in Bombay by young entrepreneurs - cousins Kunal Khatri and Bhavesh Khatri alongwith the latter's wife Bhavna Khatri. I had the opportunity of meeting Bhavna and Bhavesh. Bot in their late twenties, both armed with an MBA degree - a first glance at them you wouldn't imagine that they are not actually college students come to frequent the restaurant. Managing the P and L of the franchise on their dainty shoulders, they come across as a far cry from the urban milieu who toe the line of their ancestral business. Rather they have chosen to follow their passion, veer from the past, take a leap of faith, display a brave streak of entrepreneurship, narrow down upon a hitherto untapped opportunity and be intelligent enough to make this a roaringly profitable proposition.
In a close tete-a-tete with them I learn that this outlet has been opened about seven months ago, and they have already braved to open up one more in Khar Gymkhana. The first location has been carefully chosen to attract the youth crowd from the three neighbouring colleges, MMK, Thadomal and National.
I get straight to the point. Why Quiznos? Why should I prefer them over the age old brand Subway? What's so big a deal about them?
And I get straight, confident, factual answers. The first and foremost, the most distinctive feature about them is the Health quotient. They serve healthy options, they use premium ingredients, sourced from premium suppliers, they have a few select sauces which are 97% fat free and they believe in the bake concept rather than fry. Even their patties are baked, not deep fried. They have their own inhouse bakery - they bake their own foot-long bread, cookies and pizza base.
They have the concept of "Chef Inspired Recipes". Which implies that when a customer orders a particular item, he is suggested the same as per the set recipe. Thus for example their Smoked chicken breast sub has only chipotle sauce, which is supposed to go best with that food. That does not mean that they deny their patrons to have a mix and match as per their choice, to have their own choice of sauces or toppings or proteins - they are only offering their expert opinion.
They have not restricted themselves to only subs and salads, they offer diversified products such as kebabs, wraps, pizzas, french fries, lava cakes and cookies.
Again one of their superbly different USPs is the toasting of their sandwiches. Imagine a cold bread with cold salad and cold sauces and cold meat served to you. And in contrast, imagine a bread toasted and hot, crisp and fresh, with equally good sauces, leaves, veggies and hot meat served to you. You get the pic.
And if all these factors are combined with a competitive pricing, you veritably have a winner at hand.
I called for a Four Chilli Chicken Sub, Hot Chilli Veg Pizza, Smoked Chicken Breast Sub, Angry Sheekh Kebab, Veggie Chipotle Patty, Hara Bhara Patty, Cold coffee and Dark chocolate cookie.
The Four Chilli Chicken sub had four chilli dressing, Chicken strips, Cheese, Onion, Capsicum, Tomatoes, Olives, Lettuce and Jalapeno.The bread was Multi grain.The Smoked Chicken Breast sub had Chipotle Mayo dressing, Chicken breast, Cheese, Onion, Capsicum, Tomatoes, Olives, Lettuce and Jalapeno. This was on Wheat Bread. The Hot chilly veg Pizza had Onion, Tomatoes, Red Paprika and Jalapenos.
The four chilli dressing was a rocker to begin with, the chicken strips blended to perfection. The dark brown multi grain bread only added to the overall elan. But the winner of the two was the Smoked Chicken Breast sub - it had all the finesse of a tank and a helicopter in a glorious head-on collision. I was glad that the meat was not a mismatch in size, the buns not too big for the stuffing within. Both these were served hot, which made a whale of a difference than had they been served cold and soggy and lumpy.
The Hot chilly veg pizza was thin crust and served crisp, the toppings having all the makings of a good pizza. The Angry chicken sheekh kebabs were sufficiently angry - the succulent pieces were mopped up with the light saffron colored cheesy jalapeno sauce, although they went well with chipotle sauce and habanero sauce equally.
The Veggie Chipotle patty and the corn filled healthy Hara Bhara patty were a marvel again, I didn't for a moment realise that they were not oil fried, they were so good. Crispy and crunchy, going perfectly with the array of sauces offered.
The closure with a dark chocolate cookie was the icing. This was actually a cross between a cookie and a cake. Fresh out of the oven, it had to be scooped with a spoon, and didn't need much biting once it had landed inside the mouth. It was dark enough as well, the sweetness not the saccharine sweetness, rather the bitter sweetness which left a pleasant after taste much after it was gone even.
To get an unbiased opinion, I also called upon two unsuspecting group of patrons inside the restaurant. Approached them to inquire about their experience. Both swore vehemently by the brand - the first mentioning that Subway was dead, the other informing that they travel all the way from Andheri Lokhandwala every week just to grab a bite at this place.
They have patrons even from the film industry. They have a regular visitor in Terence Lewis, and have a special Terence sub designed for him. They deliver to offices of Red Chillies, B R Chopra and Suneil Shetty.
Applause!
The verdict: This brand is here to stay. Like to like, this brand batters its competition hands down. They only need to spread out, expand their footprint, and spread their awareness about them. They are going to rule the roost.
The ratings, they go like this:
The Food Quotient : Food Quality 4.5 / 5, Food Choices 4 / 5, Food Portion 4 / 5 Food Presentation 4 / 5
The Other Determinants : Location 4.5 / 5, Cleanliness 4 / 5, Service 4 / 5
The Hygiene Factors : Ambiance 3.5 / 5, Space quotient 2.5 / 5, Delivery time 3.5 / 5
The Conclusives : Food Price 3.5 / 5, Honesty 5 / 5, Overall Experience 4.5 / 5, Will I Visit again 4.5 / 5
PS: Bouquets / brickbats on the review can be addressed to [email protected] or submitted below.
The ratings, they go like this:
The Food Quotient : Food Quality 4.5 / 5, Food Choices 4 / 5, Food Portion 4 / 5 Food Presentation 4 / 5
The Other Determinants : Location 4.5 / 5, Cleanliness 4 / 5, Service 4 / 5
The Hygiene Factors : Ambiance 3.5 / 5, Space quotient 2.5 / 5, Delivery time 3.5 / 5
The Conclusives : Food Price 3.5 / 5, Honesty 5 / 5, Overall Experience 4.5 / 5, Will I Visit again 4.5 / 5
PS: Bouquets / brickbats on the review can be addressed to [email protected] or submitted below.
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